Man charged with murder in ambush of Houston area deputy

1of3Shannon Miles was charged with capital murder in the slaying of Goforth at a gas station Friday.Photo: /HCSO

2of3A woman believed to be the mother of the suspect in the shooting death of Harris County Deputy Darren Goforth is hugged by another woman near the suspect’s home in Cypress.Photo: James Nielsen /Houston Chronicle

3of3A Harris County Sheriff Department detective and a deputy wait for a the truck to be towed for processing at the home of a suspect in the shooting death of a Harris County Sheriff Department Deputy Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015, in Houston.
( James Nielsen / Houston Chronicle )Photo: James Nielsen, Staff / Houston Chronicle

HOUSTON — Prosecutors on Saturday charged a 30-year-old Cypress man with capital murder in the killing of a uniformed sheriff’s deputy who was gunned down from behind while filling his patrol car with gas in what officials described as a “senseless and cowardly act.”

The arrest of Shannon Miles, who has a criminal history that includes convictions for resisting arrest and disorderly conduct with a firearm, came less than 24 hours after authorities said he ambushed Darren Goforth, a 10-year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, at a suburban Houston Chevron station.

“I am proud of the men and women that have worked swiftly to apprehend the responsible person who posed a significant threat to both law enforcement and the community at large,” Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said at a news conference. “Our deputies return to the streets tonight to hold a delicate peace that was shattered last evening.”

Court and jail records did not list an attorney for Miles.

Hickman said the motive for the killing had not been determined but investigators would look at whether Miles, who is black, was motivated by anger over recent killings elsewhere of black men by police that have spawned the “Black Lives Matter” protest movement. Goforth was white.

“I think that’s something that we have to keep an eye on,” Hickman said. “The general climate of that kind of rhetoric can be influential on people to do things like this. We’re still searching to find out if that’s actually a motive.”

Hickman said investigators are working on the assumption “that he was a target because he wore a uniform.”

Goforth, 47, was pumping gas Friday night when the gunman approached him from behind and fired multiple shots, continuing to fire after the deputy had fallen to the ground.

The deputy had gone to the Chevron gas station in Cypress, a middle-class to upper middle-class suburban area of Harris County that is unincorporated and located northwest of Houston, after responding to a routine car accident earlier Friday.

Goforth was stationed in District V in northwest Harris County. He had a wife and two children, a 12-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son.

Earlier on Saturday, Hickman had called the killing a “cold-blooded assassination.”

“We’ve heard black lives matter, all lives matter. Well, cops’ lives matter too, so why don’t we just drop the qualifiers and just say lives matter and take that to the bank,” Hickman said.

Deray McKesson, a leader of the Black Lives Matter movement, responded to Hickman’s criticisms by saying: “I grieve for the victims of violence. It is unfortunate that Sheriff Hickman has chosen to politicize this tragedy and to attribute the officer’s death to a movement that seeks to end violence.”

“There are a few bad apples in every profession. That does not mean there should be open warfare declared on law enforcement,” she said.

In a statement Saturday, Gov. Greg Abbott said “heinous and deliberate crimes against law enforcement will not be tolerated” and that the state “reveres the men and women in law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve their communities.”

Hickman said Miles had been in the custody of authorities “all night.” Authorities earlier Saturday said they had been speaking with a person of interest but they had not identified that person.

Court records of Miles’ previous arrests show he lived at a home deputies searched earlier Saturday and where a red truck, similar to one authorities said left the scene of the shooting, was found. Hickman credited the work of investigators and “routine research” that found the truck that led to “the suspect responsible for this senseless and cowardly act.”

Neighbors described Miles as calm and friendly. Many were concerned about his welfare, saying they believed he had some sort of learning disability.

An impromptu memorial sprouted at the gas pump Goforth used Friday night, with a pile of balloons, flowers, candles and notes, including one that said, “Gone but never forgotten R.I.P. Deputy Goforth.” The gas station was open Saturday, but that pump was closed.